The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has officially announced the appointment of Zhang Cheng as the Minister of Emergency Management. Zhang Cheng had previously served as the chief aide to the current Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing during his tenure in Liaoning. Analysts believe that the signs indicate that the CCP’s top leadership is promoting their own supporters, signaling the rise of various factions in the post-Xi era.
According to CCP state media, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee appointed Zhang Cheng as the Minister of Emergency Management on April 30.
Public records show that Zhang Cheng was born in October 1970 and has held positions such as member of the Standing Committee of the Fuxin Municipal Committee in Liaoning, Executive Deputy Mayor, Deputy Secretary, and Mayor of the Fuxin Municipal Committee, and Secretary of the Panjin Municipal Committee, among others. In December 2021, Zhang Cheng was appointed as a member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and concurrently served as the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee. In July 2023, he was transferred to the Standing Committee of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and Executive Deputy Governor. In November 2024, he became the Secretary of the Tangshan Municipal Committee until his appointment as the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Emergency Management Department on March 27 this year.
The former Secretary of the CCP’s Emergency Management Department, Wang Xiangxi, was officially announced to have been removed from his post on January 31 this year.
It is noteworthy that the current Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing served as the Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee from August 2020 to November 2022. Zhang Cheng was previously the chief aide (also known as “major-domo”) to Zhang Guoqing.
Zhang Guoqing currently also oversees workplace safety and serves as the director of the CCP’s State Council Work Safety Committee. Official information reveals that Zhang Cheng has been appointed as the Deputy Director of the State Council Work Safety Committee and the first political commissar of the National Fire and Rescue Bureau.
Chinese affairs expert Li Linyi stated that since the 20th National Congress of the CCP, the original Xi faction has been continuously promoting their own people. For example, Vice Premier and Director of the Central Finance Office He Lifeng, responsible for finance, promoted his “Xiamen gang” member Wang Jiang as the Executive Deputy Director of the Central Finance Office; Premier of the State Council Li Qiang promoted his former partner and Governor of Jiangsu Province Wu Zhenglong to the Secretary-General of the State Council, while Kang Xuping, who served as Li Qiang’s chief aide in Jiangsu and Shanghai, was appointed as the Deputy Director of the State Council Research Office. This is the performance of various factions rising in the post-Xi era.
Another Vice Premier Liu Guozhong’s chief aide and Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council Lin Tao was recently transferred to the Secretary of the CCP’s Xiamen Municipal Committee. The previous Secretary of the Xiamen Municipal Committee, Cui Yonghui, has an unknown whereabouts. Cui Yonghui was the chief aide to the former governor of Fujian province, Yin Li, during his time in power.
Li Linyi mentioned that currently, there is infighting among the CCP’s top leadership in personnel selections, with each faction trying to outdo each other.
Furthermore, at the National People’s Congress Standing Committee meeting on April 30, Zhang Zhu, the Secretary of the CCP Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Just two days earlier on April 28, Zhang Zhu was appointed as the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, while Han Jun was relieved of his position as the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Zhang Zhu, 58 years old this year, has had a long career in Ningxia, serving as the Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Ningxia Autonomous Region Animal Husbandry Department, Secretary of Zhongwei Municipal Committee, and others. In June 2017, he became a member of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Party Committee and Secretary of the Guyuan Municipal Committee, then a member of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Party Committee and Secretary of the Yinchuan Municipal Committee in February 2021, followed by a member of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department in September 2021. He later served as the Deputy Secretary and Minister of the Organization Department of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Party Committee, and in 2024, he became the Deputy Secretary of the Xinjiang Party Committee and Secretary of the Urumqi Municipal Committee.
The former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Han Jun, has an unknown whereabouts. Han Jun, 63 years old this year, is not yet at the retirement age of 65 for officials of his rank.